I got up a bit later as I slept in. Papa had snuck downstairs to have his croissant and coffee. While he was downstairs I got ready for a day on the Rive Gauche or left bank. A chocolate croissant on the go for me and we were on the way to the Musee D'Orsay where we arrived just minutes before it opened. This used to be a train station and converted to be a museum where the building is just as beautiful as it's paintings and sculptures. There we heaps of paintings and papa patiently explained the intricacies of these to me. No photos allowed in the museum which was a pity as the Van Gogh collection alone is worth a visit. Some of these we had seen in Canberra in 2010. Two hours there just flew and next it was time to make our way for the main event of the day. A quick sandwich and then a walk from D'Orsay via Napoleon's tomb The Invalides to The Eiffel Tower. We arrived early and with our prepaid tickets we entered immediately and guess what, no queue! Reason for the absence of any other tourist became clear pretty soon

. It was overcast and about +2 degrees. Not really the best day for long distance viewing, but we did not let that stop us. Wow you can see all Paris from up there even when it's this overcast. We mosied around making the best of it but the westerly freezing wind kept us at the sheltered north side of the tower. At three it was over and even though the hotel was what we both wanted we persevered and went via train to the museum that was closed on Tuesday. I had seen one picture and told papa I wanted to go here. The Grand Gallery of Evolution was the highlight of the day. Warm and welcoming it boasted again a beautiful building but also a parade of lots of animals all stuffed. One gallery had lots of extinct or threatened animals in it including a Tasmanian Tiger, a wonderful specimen too. The Louvre was the best museum as it had lots of history, the Musee D'Orsay was the best for it great architecture and wonderful collection, and the Grand Gallery of Evolution was the best as it had my favourite subject in it, animals, together with lots of info on animals and it's not every day you get to see a Dodo and Tasmanian Tiger from close by, stuffed but nonetheless real.

I don't think there is anything left to see on the left bank, but maybe there is and just like the animals, papa and I were stuffed too. We got some Chinese takeaway, which was delicious by the way, and headed home to crash and relax. Nothing on tomorrow but we'll see I might do some shopping as I never get tired of that!